Monthly Archives: July 2011

Real Life :: Alix’s Fresno Fourth of July

Kiddo Holidays, Real Life : Alix

For the past four years we have hit the road and gone to Fresno to visit some of our very best pals, Dan & Lisa. (Check out last years adventure here!) They are both professors at the university down there and have two really awesome kids. Wolfie adores them (Ben and Emmy are much older than him and he calls them his “cousins”). One of my favorite parts is how the whole neighborhood gets involved on the Fourth of July—there is a kid’s parade, bouncey house, and of course fireworks and sparklers at night. This year it was INSANELY hot. Like 103 degrees hot. Like, “I’m a big ol sweaty ball” hot. We had to modify our plans a little, but it was still lots of fun. Here are some pictures of our little weekend:

THE PARK

They have an excellent park at the end of the cul de sac….it’s huge and grassy. Wolfie was too nervous to go down the crazy water slide but he eagerly took a sno-cone! (breaking his “i hate sugar” rule)

Like I said, it was 103 degrees this year. And friends, that kinda weather is reeeeeeeally uncomfortable. Note Wolfie’s red cheekies.

Wolfie’s cousin Ben (in the blue tee) is awesome….here he is with his best pal Braden manning the sno cone machine. They are that rare breed of 14 year old. Cool skater boys who get along really well with their peers, but are also totally comfortable hanging with the adults. A miracle!

Here’s Wolfie with Emmy, Ben’s sister. Emmy is terrific—she is a Pokemon expert, an aspiring actress (she landed a featured role in the local theater summer play) and is officially Wolfie’s guru on things anime. He thinks she’s really cool.

GETTING READY FOR THE PARADE.

All the kiddos decorate their trikes, bikes and scooters in full RWB regalia!

Little Alastair is a big sweetie—and clearly had the Fourth of July spirit goin’ on!

Hee. Go Al!

I don’t know this kid, but I like his style!

This was last year—the little girl in her pink Barbie convertible is always a highlight for me every summer. Alas, she wasn’t here this year! But I had to give her a nod…

Our neighborhood doesn’t really have sidewalks, so we’ve been slow on the bike riding dealie with Wolfie. He finally got a little cruiser with training wheels and he was totally into it! The training wheels have that wibble wobble thing where the bike suddenly leans to one side, making Wolfie shriek (in a manly way) and totally reminded me of being a kid….remember how the training wheels would bobble and you thought for SURE you were gonna wipe out?

Crazy Greg entertained the little troops with his mylar dancin’….

But ultimately folks, I was sweatin’ my booty off. We realized that the parade was not going to be much fun and decided it was time to put Plan B into effect.

PLAN B: THE POOL.

A

Ahhhhhh. That was more like it.

Little Eloise won Best Haircut! (or Hair Cute, as I like to say!)

That little girlie is pretty darn cute no??

We BBQ-ed, we lounged, we laughed. It was awesome. Thanks Dan & Lisa for another awesome year!

Because the Fourth fell on a Monday, we had to hit the road home that evening. Slightly sun-kissed and exhausted, we eagerly looked to the horizon for more fireworks.

Dottie’s Kraft Korner—Attack of the Killer UFOs: Week One

Crafts + DIY, ,

Week One in my mission to knock out some projects that have been on my UFO To Do list and I’m quite chuffed at my success.  This week I attack:

9.) Make the Peach a few light-weight summer shirts—DONE.

When the mercury starts to climb our Peach turns into one sticky little lady. She needs tops made of lightweight cotton that cover her shoulders and allow for air circulation to go along with her capri pants that suit her slide-loving lifestyle. Just a couple of light fanciful tops as a nice alternative to t-shirts.

I found the perfect little pattern, Sophia at Burda.  Looked super simple right? Well, yes, I suppose it was, but I’m process seamstress who enjoys the whirring of the sewing machine and try to find little ways to make the piece extra pretty.  I also like to finish my seams with my beloved serger because the Peach can be tough on clothes.  This pattern was nice and easy and sweetly girlish without being an explosion of lace and ruffles. And a couple of nice techniques added–like simple gathering on the sides.

This was my first time using Burda and the instructions were pretty basic which isn’t an issue and I like the instant printable access of buying patterns online. Pretty much followed it to a t except I used a hook and eye in the back and also had to widen the collar quite a bit for my clearly big headed baby.

So I knocked out two pretty quickly and they were perfect for the warmer weather we are having. And really dress up the super simple Target capris that are turning into her summer staples. Along with her saltwater sandals. Why yes, I did base all of the fabric choices (pulled from my stash) on what would go with her shoes…

Stay tuned for next week’s UFO update.  Squee! Very excited!

Real Life:: Dottie’s Yankee Doodle Weekend!

Real Life, Real Life : Dottie, ,

Oh lawdy, I’m tired!  But I had the best three day weekend for the Fourth. We decided to forgo travel this weekend and hunker down on the island. I LOVE a good family car trip or plane trip or (squee!) a train trip. But sometimes it’s nice to just hang out in your old stomping grounds and pump a little special into the mix.

Like making blueberry pancakes Saturday morning! I don’t know if it gets more special than that! CHOW has a wonderfully easy recipe that I have a feeling will work its way into my cooking repertoire very soon.

We also went on a “hike”  on Montclair Trail, which is perfect for the kiddos. Not too crowded and a beautiful easy shady walk. I can’t wait to go again. Brave Daddy heading the trail with Miss Peach picking up pieces of sloughed eucalyptus bark.

And we also snuck a little tag sale action into the mix. Our gal, glamorous authoress Lynn Peril (of Think Pink, College Girls and her latest book, Swimming in the Steno Pool) had a little tag sale which was choc-a-block with wonderfulness. She even had an original RECORD from the cast of ZOOM! But the best part was seeing Lynn and fellow Dame, Karen Finlay’s fabulous hats.

Why, yes that is faux netting made of straw and yes, that is a little lobster caught in the straw “net’ on Lynn’s hat. I know. Trust me, I know.

I also stopped by another tag sale a block away and scored some AMAZING finds. Like this terrific vintage floral suitcase and two darling floral vintage dresses which have both been added to the summer UFO project list because they just need minor little changes before they are fabulous. Oh, but they will be fabulous. Don’t doubt it for a moment, friends!

Sunday was rather hot for the Bay Area! So a morning bike ride to the beach was in order.  Me with my hat and the Peach with her toys. Sadly the tide was really out but the Peach had a blast chasing tiny tiny fishies in the tide pools.

And when the sun got too strong for our fair Peach, we hustled her into the little Crab Cove Nature Conservatory which was full of sweet facts and cool things to look at—like aquariums and a neato info about sharks and whales. I loved how they tried to create the feeling that you were in the bottom of the ocean by painting the walls and hanging things like this boat from the ceiling.

 

And there was also a bit of QT spent playing in that summer suburban classic—the sprinklers.

But the best was the local Fourth of July parade on Monday. What a hoot! And such great local flavor.

The Peach wore a little vintage red, white and blue number to cheer on everyone in the parade, which is always best watched from Daddy’s arms.

My favorite part was watching the oldest baton troupe in the U.S., The Pearlettes. I would have loved to be one, but I’d be too afraid of it hitting me in the head.

The weekend was a blast. We also went to BBQs, the local pool and I did bits of sewing and other little things. And danced to silly songs and marched around the backyard. And reading many many many books to the Peach.

Yup. The best part of the weekend was just being able to spend time with my sweetie and my favorite little Peach.

How was your Fourth of July weekend?

 

 

Oh Say Can You See?

Real Life

Greetings my friends! Are you enjoying your weekend? We are here in Fresno for our annual Fourth of July trip and lemme tell you it is hot hot hot! It’s 99+ degrees and this little San Francisco fillie is wilting! I tell ya we are such wimpies, not used to the heat. And humidity? Fugittaboutit. My hair turns into a halo of Donna Summer frizz. Some of our friends are kickin’ it in Palm Springs and we hear it’s a crispy 118 down there. ZOINKS!!!

Do you have any fun plans for the 4th? Miss Dottie’s groovy town of Alameda is having a parade  (how cute is that??) so I can’t wait to see the little Peachie!  Speaking of, look at this amazing photo of those two! Dottie and I are loving Instagram. (Find her at “MissDottie” and I’m at “galexina”.)

Those little eyes. I love it! As for me and Wolfie, we’re  really enjoying our summer. We have been on a little ice cream jag ourselves—a sweet treat to beat the heat!

I’m also in the throes of Project POP (my plans to make a little money by purging and streamlining my massive vintage collection). I had a coffee date with my cool friend Doe and we spent a good portion of the talk discussing how we need to not be mini hoarders and we should encourage each other and help each other clean up and organize our crazy houses. Of course right afterwards she took me to a little vintage/antique shop where I promptly bought this Enid Collins style bag. Yes, I have a problem.

But in my defense….it’s a really unusual shape for these bags and kinda practical. And who can resist such a perty sparkley??